The present invention relates generally to a vehicle having a structure for preventing water drops between a cowl and a dash board from entering an engine compartment.
Known vehicles have structures for preventing water drops from entering engine compartments. The structures have cowls and dash boards disposed below the cowls. The dashboards are positioned to separate the engine compartments from passenger compartments. The cowls include grill for taking in air from outside the vehicles. The cowls sealingly engage the dash boards such that water drops passing through the grills fail to enter the engine compartments.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 10-45035 entitled xe2x80x9cCOWL LOUVERxe2x80x9d discloses a cowl having its upper part covered by a cowl louver extending forwardly from a windshield of an automobile. The cowl louver has inlet ports formed therein. The cowl has a passageway formed therewithin. The apertures of the cowl louver communicate with the passageway. Air outside the automobile is introduced into the passageway through the inlet ports.
The cowl louver is halved to provide right and left halves. These halves butt against each other at a widthwise center of the automobile. The thus halved cowl louver is relatively easy to manufacture.
Each half has a horizontal projection member extending from a front end thereof into an engine compartment of the automobile. The projection member is in the form of a flange. Like wise, the cowl has a horizontal flange extending from an upper end thereof into the engine compartment. The cowl is coupled to the halves of the cowl louver with the projection members lying on the flange.
Drops of water such as raindrops could enter into the inlet ports of the cowl louver. Most of the drops travel along a surface of the cowl out of the automobile.
However, part of the drops travels along an interior surface of the cowl louver and then between the projection members and the flange, after which it can leak into the engine compartment. Such a leakage occurs mostly at the widthwise center where the halves of the cowl louver butt establishing an insufficient sealing engagement therebetween.
It is preferred that an amount of drops to leak from the widthwise center into the engine compartment having various electrical components accommodated therein be as small as possible.
an object of the present invention is to provide a structure for preventing water drops passing through a halved cowl from entering into an engine compartment.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle including a vehicle body having an engine compartment and a passenger compartment formed therein, said vehicle comprising: (A) a cowl mounted to said vehicle body and having a grill formed therein for taking in external air; (B) a dash board disposed below said cowl to separate said engine compartment from said passenger compartment; said dash board including: (a) a dash board body; (b) a dash board flange extending from an upper end of said dash board body into said engine compartment; said cowl extending in a widthwise direction of said vehicle body and comprising right and left halves each including: (a) a cowl body; (b) a cowl flange extending from a lower end of said cowl body into said engine compartment to cover said dash board flange; (c) a cover portion extending from said lower end of said cowl body to cover said upper end of said dash board body; and said dash board flange and said cowl flange having a seal member disposed in a space formed therebetween, said seal member sealing said space, said seal member having a portion tightly contacting said cover portion and said dash board body.
Preferably, said cowl flange and said cover portion have proximal portions formed integrally with said lower end of said cowl body, said proximal portions of said cowl flange and said cover portion tightly contacting said portion of said seal member.
The cover portion extends from the lower end of the cowl body to cover the upper end of the dash board body and the dash board flange. Provision of the cover portion allows most of water drops, which have passed through the grill to the cover portion, to travel out of the vehicle without entering a space between the dash board flange and the cowl flange. Part of the water drops on an exterior surface of the cover portion can cross over a distal edge of the cover portion and then travel on an interior surface of the cover portion towards the space between the cowl flange and the dash board flange. The seal member interposed between the dash board flange and the cowl flange extends in substantially parallel to the cowl flange and the cover portion with a clearance formed between the cover portion and the dash board body. The clearance extends along the length of seal member.
The seal member has a portion held in intimate contact with the proximal portions of the cowl flange and the cover portion. The portion of the seal member blocks the clearance. In other words, the travel of the part of water drops through the clearance is blocked. It is therefore unlikely that the water drops within the clearance enter the engine compartment.
The cover portion serves to prevent water drops, which has passed through the grill onto the cowl body, from traveling into the space between the cowl flange and the dash board flange. The clearance formed between the proximal portions is blocked by the portion of the seal member. Use of such a seal member provides the advantage that the least amount of water drops having passed into the clearance enters the engine compartment.
The seal member is partially brought into tight contact with the proximal portions more easily than it is throughout the length thereof.
Preferably, said portion of said seal member tightly contacting said proximal portions of said cowl flange and said cover portion is located in the proximity of a boundary between said right and left halves of said cowl.
The clearance is blocked at a position close to the boundary between the halves. The water drops traveling from the exterior surface across the distal end of the cover portion of greater area into the clearance are prevented from traveling to the boundary.
Preferably, said proximal portions of said cowl flange and said cover portion and said lower end of said cowl body come together to form a corner portion, said corner portion, said proximal portions of said cowl flange and said cover portion and said portion of said seal member tightly contacting said proximal portions of said cowl flange and said cover portion having plural partition sheets provided in a space defined therebetween, said partition sheets being disposed side by side with each other in the widthwise direction of said vehicle body and spaced at predetermined intervals.
The partition sheets are in sealing engagement with both the portion of the seal member and the corner portion.